The Pros and Cons of Quidditch
by aurouraborealis
Summary: Hogwarts fifth years Marabelle 'Mary' Wendley and James Potter the Second absolutely cannot stand each other. Mary is muggleborn quidditch prodigy and James was born into greatness. Their world is turned upside down when Albus Potter is elected captain rather than the two of them. Throw the Triwizard Cup in on top of that and they're in for a whirlwind of a year!


_**A/N: **Off we go to the beginning of my first ever Harry Potter fanfiction! Anything you recognize belongs to Ms. Rowling! I hope you like it!_

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Chapter 1: That Was Unexpected

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I stared at my ghostly white reflection in the mirror of my deserted hallway and brushed a piece of my honey blonde hair behind my ear. I smoothed down my red and navy striped sweater and glanced down at my flare leg jeans and dark brown moccasins. I had decided to dress comfortable for the train ride, besides, I would be changing anyway.

"Mary, darling, it's time to go!" My mother called up the staircase.

"Coming, mum!" I yelled back.

I gripped the leather handle of my trunk and one hand and the cold brass handle of my owl, Calypso's, cage in the other. I ran down the stairs and out the front door to meet my parents at the car. They're both muggles, my mother owns a flower shop and father is a business man so they weren't really used to the whole idea of me performing witchcraft and what not, but they loved me anyway. My father took my trunk and stored it in the boot as I slid into the backseat, cage in tow.

The whole ride there, I couldn't help but let my mind drift to the faces of the rest of the fifth years on the train when it was time to change into our robes and mine weren't adorned by the shining gold and maroon Gryffindor Quidditch Captain's badge. The only thing that would be there would be my prefect badge and the ever-smug James Potter would laugh into the sunset as he ordered me to do sprints.

I_ loathed_ James Potter.

He and I have had a strong bond since first year. A bond of hatred, that is.

It all started in first year; I was out on the pitch working on my keeping skills with my newfound friend, Violet Wood. She'd shown me the fantastic sport of quidditch. She figured she'd teach me a few things when she deemed I was, in fact, a muggleborn, and not using her to get her apparently famous fathers' skills. The first time we set foot on the pitch, she launched a quaffle out to me strong and fast and I caught it in a daze. She'd deemed me a quidditch prodigy. I was the youngest keeper Hogwarts had ever seen, and that crawled under James Potter's skin. Sure, he was dashing young beater who had the Potter charm, but it wasn't enough to make the actual team our first year at this marvelous institution, just the reserves. And thus the hatred began.

My parent's vehicle came to a stop in a parking space outside of Kings Cross Station. My mother and I waited in the car while my father went to get a trolley.

We made our way to platform 9 and pushed through the barrier. Platform 9 ¾ was filled with Hogwarts students ready to begin another year, or their first. I'd seen a bunch of fifth years, like myself, standing by the entrance to one of the cars. My father took my trunk and my owl cage and carried them off to where they needed to be.

And then I was tackled by Violet Wood, nonetheless.

"Mary, you made it!" She exclaimed, gripping onto me for dear life.

"Well of course I made it, what did you think, I would get sucked into a hole in the ground?" I grinned.

"Well you never know with those muggle contraptions, I tell ya." She smiled and hugged me once again.

She hurried me down the train car to get to our compartment and in the process I accidentally body checked Dee Collins, a fourth year Ravenclaw. I apologized and she nodded in response, but didn't reply, which was not out of character.

My shoulder was promptly yanked out place courtesy of Violet.

"Everyone, Mary's here!" Violet bellowed through the very packed compartment.

When I say very packed, I mean it. On the left couch was Nikki Weasley (Dominique, but if you call her that, she'll kill you) was seated upon Daniel Jordan's lap, Rose Weasley was seated across from Scorpius Malfoy, if those two are ever going to get together it had better happen soon, also on the left was Lilah Scamander on Freddie Weasley's lap, they weren't together, just best friends, as of right now anyway. Then on the right we've got the atrocious James Potter by the window. Eight people in one compartment are most certainly packed like sardines. I sat by the door and Violet plunked between me and James. Perfect.

James was acting awfully sour, considering his new leadership position.

I redirected my attention elsewhere. In a few minutes, the sweets cart would pull up and I was going to have myself a chocolate frog, a pumpkin pastie, and sugar quill. A whole summer and only muggle candy calls for an abundance of wizards candy.

James scoffed when I returned form the cart, arms full of sweets.

"Live a little." I rolled my eyes at James.

"You first." He challenged.

"Why the challenge, James, you've already won the prize?" I sighed and sat down.

He didn't reply. A look of pain crossed his face and he moved his attention to out the window.

"Hate to burst this bubble of despair kiddieos but we need to change into our robes." Freddie said, hopping up from his seat.

We all agreed and went to change.

The girls and I went to the change rooms at the back of the cart and began changing. I slipped out of my comfortable jeans and pulled on my thick grey wool skirt and buttoned up my white button down. I pulled the black sweater vest over my head that was lined with maroon and gold around the neck and slid the tie on. Lastly I pinned the prefects badge to the outside of my robes and stepped out. I was the first girl to finish changing.

I slowly strode back to our compartment, but not before passing Albus Severus Potter. There was a sight I had not expected to see. A Captains Badge was pinned to his robes. I suddenly understood James's sour expression.

"You?!" I exclaimed.

"Me." Albus Potter smirked back at me and strode down the hallway.

I stood with my mouth agape.

I knew he was only acting this way because of my baffled expression, Al really is a sweet kid but he's in fourth year! How could Professor Longbottom, the head of Gryffindor, name him captain? I'm bloody fantastic and if not me, then why not James? I'm rather infuriated.

I headed down to the compartment where the Prefect meeting would take place. I saw James Potter- oh joy, and I also saw Dee Collins. I didn't really know the rest. The headgirl Fantasia Tinklewood stood firmly beside Joshua Levsby. The meeting was brief, we were just given our schedules for rounds and the tower password. A seventh year prefect would give it to the first years. I would be paired up with a sixth year named Donald Washington. During the whole meeting, the fact that Albus Potter was our new quiedditch captain never escaped my mind. That's probably why I glared at Jams for the majority of the meeting.

I huffed and stormed back into the compartment and plunked down.

Violet reappeared, once again acting as a barrier between James and I.

"Woah, what happened in here? Suddenly it's the doom and gloom compartment. Don't tell me the dementors got you guys!" She joked.

I sighed and leaned across her.

"This is all your fault you know, if you'd been better at being a team player, this never would've happened." I snarled at James.

I turned his head and gave me a dirty look.

"My fault? iMy fault?/i What about you, huh? All you ever do is complain about how your uniform is itchy, or how the chasers didn't get the ball fast enough! You are the worst team player out there; did you really expect to become captain?" He snapped back venomously.

"I expected one of us too, not your little brother for Merlin's sake!" I practically shouted in his face.

I opened my mouth to speak again, but I was pulled backwards by Freddie and James was being held down by Violet.

We glared at each other until I was out the door and Freddie was leading me down the hallway to another compartment.

"This is a bloody nightmare, whoevers idea it was to stick you two in a compartment together needs to be fed to some snorfblats." Freddie chuckled.

"It's not funny, Fred." I sighed and rolled my eyes.

I swear this boy takes everything as a joke.

Violet's dad says that he's just like his namesake.

"Well of course it is darling you should see each other! You could feel the tension from the back of the train!" He winked.

I shrugged in semi-agreement.

"Oh dear, I wasn't talking about anger tension" His lips slid into a sly smile and he chuckled happily.

"Don't say that you're going to make me puke, that boy is toxic waste." I scoffed in disgust.

"Whatever you say, sugarplum." He grinned.

"Why must you always call me everything but my name?" I chucked and shook my head.

"Given names are no fun, they're telling us who to be." He replied as if it were the simplest thing to ever happen in the world.

Freddie Weasley is a nut job, don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise.

I laid back and shifted around until I was finally comfortable in the compartment, but naturally, as soon as I'd found a comfortable position, the metal wheels of the train squealed against the track, signaling that we were at Hogwarts.

Of bloody course, right when I get comfortable.

"Come on then Mary; don't want to be late for the welcoming feast!" Freddie grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the compartment.

That much was true; missing the welcome feast was a dishonor to stomachs everywhere.

We hopped in a carriage where we met up with Violet and Lilah, so off we went to see the ickle firsties become members of houses and gain ten pounds because of Dinky the house elf's wonderful grilled chicken.

Freddie slid into the bench and I plunked beside him, Violet followed and sat be. ide me, and Nikki sat beside her. Everyone else sat across from us.

First years were the cutest little bumpkins, looking all lost and confused, especially the muggleborns. A fond memory of myself in their position flickered through my brain.

I remembered that everyone who was a muggleborn like me was scared and biting their nails, but I was enchanted. I was enthralled by the beauty of the castle and the wonderful magic around me. I remember gripping my wand that my mother had taken me to purchase, she too was amazed. A friendly letter sent from the school had told us where to go. My mother had made a new friend of Mr. Wingavitch, the wandmaker who worked in Ollivander's wand shop.

I'm getting off track here.

Headmistress McGonagall was halfway through the new first years by now, only a few were Gryffindors. Most of them were Hufflepuffs, which is not strange, there's a dominant house for every year. Mine is Gryffindor, obviously.

"Potter, Lily" McGonagall called, and my head turned to see a cute red-headed girl glide up the stairs with a big smile on her face as she waved to her brothers. She took her place on the stool beneath the centuries old hat. We could tell the hat was contemplating where to place Lily. Eventually, the hat made its decision.

"SLYTHERIN!" The sorting hat shouted throughout the great hall. There was lots of whooping coming from the Slytherin table, and James and Albus both stood up cheering and hollering for their younger sister. It's moments like these where you forget that James has no heart.

"I'm stunned." I thought allowed.

"Yeah well, Lily is quite cunning, I'm not surprised." Al chuckled. James nodded in agreement.

I could see it in his eyes, he was acting like he was over the whole captain thing, but he wasn't. He was still hurt.

I could read that boy like a book.

The feast ended and we all went up to the Gryffindor common room, the password was "snickerdoodle." I'm quite fond of snickerdoodles.

We all sat around the fire for a while, catching up and telling each other what happened over the summer.

My friends not amused by my abundance of muggle puns. I can't see how, those things are extremely hilarious. They must have no sense of humor.

While they all told me their wonderful whims of wizarding summers, I felt as if my muggle summer was somewhat anticlimactic.

Eventually we decided it would be time to go to bed, because after all it would be our first day of classes tomorrow. We'd get our timetables at breakfast.

We all filed upstairs to our rooms. I changed into my jammies and tucked in tight.

This is going to be along year.

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**A/N:**_ Thank you very much if you read this, I greatly appreciate it!_


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